1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a moisture absorption pack and more particularly to a liquid absorbing sectional pack operable in a variety of environments to prevent the accumulation of liquids.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Desiccant containers operable to absorb water vapor, liquids and the like are well known in the art as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,578,324 which teaches a package made of water vapor permeable sheets of fibrous material with a heat-sealable coating on one surface of the fibrous sheet. A fibrous material, such as tissue paper, is embedded in the coating. The sheets are arranged into a container and a desiccant, such as silica gel, is sealed in the container whereby water vapor is readily absorbed through the walls of the container. The volume of water vapor capable of being absorbed is determined by the absorbent capacity of the volume of desiccant in the container. Once this capacity has been exceeded, however, the container is not operable to absorb additional water vapor to which it is exposed.
It is known, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,713,214, to reduce perspiration of the feet when worn in a shoe by a shoe pad formed by a plurality of individually sealed pockets containing a foot powder. The pad is positioned in the shoe, and the pad follows the contour of the inner shoe. The pad when worn in the shoe functions to remove foot odor and reduce perspiration of the feet.
Substances capable of absorbing relatively large amounts of fluids are used in manufacturing products of the above described type to increase the water absorbency of the products. U.S. Pat. No. 3,611,815 discloses a water insoluble granular solid comprising an alkali metal carboxylate salt of a starch-polyacrylonitrile graft copolymers. The granular solids have the ability to absorb water in amounts in excess of 50 parts per part thereof while retaining their granular character. The granules, as disclosed, are useful in the manufacture of liquid absorbing products.
While it has been suggested by the prior art to provide liquid absorbing devices in which a desiccant is retained in a liquid or moisture permeable sheet material, the absorbent properties of the known devices are limited by the quantity of liquid or moisture the container and desiccant are capable of absorbing. Thus for a device having sealed sections with a fixed volume of desiccant in each section, the absorbent capacity of the entire device is limited by the capacity of each section. Thus, unless the remaining sections are exposed to the liquid or moisture, the entire device is limited to the absorbent capabilities of one section. Therefore, there is need to provide a liquid or moisture absorbing device containing a plurality of sections in which all the liquid entering an individual section will be absorbed by the section of the device even though the amount of liquid entering the individual section is greater than the absorbent capabilities of the individual section.